Quick & Fun Christmas Card Poems for KS2 🎅🎄✨
Great for teachers looking to save time!
👉 In my Poetry Days in primary schools across the UK I work hard to get the children excited about writing and performing their own poems. I visit over 100 schools every year and I’d love to work with your children and teachers.
📅 You can book me for:
In-person Poetry Days across the UK
Online Poetry Workshops (affordable and flexible)
➡ Secure your date here: Poets in Schools – Ian Bland
The run-up to Christmas can be one of the busiest times in school – concerts, nativities, carol singing and endless glitter everywhere! But it’s also the perfect opportunity to inject some quick, fun and creative poetry writing into your classroom.
The short Christmas card poems (from Christmas Poems, chosen by Paul Cookson – Macmillan) are ideal for inspiring children to play with rhythm and rhyme without it feeling like hard work. The example verses by children’s poet Kate Williams are especially effective because they’re:
Short (just four lines long)
Simple rhyme schemes (A, B, C, B or A, B, A, B)
Easy to perform aloud
Here are some examples (and a few of my own efforts!) to share with your class:
From pupil to teacher:
Merry Christmas Mrs Griffin
Make sure you have a rest,
Remember to make it easy
Next time you set a test!
—Charlie
Teacher to pupil:
Merry Christmas Charlotte
Hope your holidays are great,
Next term when we start again
Please try NOT to be so LATE!
—Mrs Griffin
Pupil to headteacher:
Merry Christmas Mr Callaghan
Do try to have some fun,
And the next time I am naughty
Please don’t ring my mum!
—Maddie
👉 Christmas Haiku Poem Writing Framework
👉 Christmas Cinquain Poem Writing Framework
👉 Christmas Acrostic Poem Writing Framework
👉 Christmas Mesostic Poem Writing Framework
👉 Christmas Telestich Poem Writing Framework
Get yourself a signed book!
Fun Classroom Activities 🎁
1. Christmas Card Poem Swap
Ask every child to write a short four-line poem to go inside a Christmas card. They can swap cards with a partner, or you can do a “Secret Santa” draw so each child gives their poem-card to a mystery classmate.
Extension: Children could decorate their cards with drawings or collage to match the mood of their poem.
2. Role Reversal Poems
Encourage children to write poems from unusual perspectives:
Elf to Santa: “Please don’t give us so much work…”
Turkey to Farmer: “I’d really rather you ate sprouts…”
Bauble to Christmas Tree: “Stop shaking every time someone walks past!”
This adds humour and helps them imagine new voices.
👉 More inspiration in my Creative Classroom Challenges.
3. Performance Challenge 🎤
Once poems are written, split the class into small groups and give them time to practise reading their verses aloud with lots of expression. Add in silly props (Santa hats, tinsel, a squeaky toy reindeer) to make performances even more fun.
👉 For tips on turning poetry into performance, see Performance Poetry in Primary Schools.
4. Whole-Class Mega Card
Instead of individual cards, create one giant class card (A2 sugar paper folded). Each child contributes a four-line poem inside. Display it in the school entrance or present it to your headteacher at assembly.
5. Poem Advent Calendar 📅
Turn the poems into an advent display: 24 envelopes or pockets on a wall, each hiding a child’s four-line Christmas poem. Open one each day in December and read it aloud as a class.
6. Quick-Fire Rhyme Game ❄️
Shout out a festive word (e.g. snow, Santa, elf, reindeer) and challenge pupils in pairs to come up with a two-line rhyming couplet in 60 seconds. Great for warming up before writing.
👉 More fun warm-ups in my Simple Poetry Starters.
Why This Works 🎄
This style of poetry gives children:
✔️ A chance to play with rhyme and rhythm in a stress-free way
✔️ An opportunity to share poems with a real audience (cards, performances, displays)
✔️ Space to have fun and be a bit cheeky with their writing!
You’ll be surprised how inventive and funny their verses become once they get going.
Final Word 🎅
Give it a try and let me know how your class gets on!
👉 In my Poetry Days in primary schools across the UK I work hard to get the children excited about writing and performing their own poems. I visit over 100 schools every year and I’d love to work with your children and teachers.
📅 You can book me for:
In-person Poetry Days across the UK
Online Poetry Workshops (affordable and flexible)
➡ Secure your date here: Poets in Schools – Ian Bland
Kate Williams is a fabulous children’s poet & workshop leader!
Find out more about her work here: https://katewilliamspoet.com/
